The eight colour MIDI II press

Soma Engineering has installed a second flexographic printing press at UK-based Reflex Flexible Packaging to expand the company’s printing and flexible packaging production.

The eight colour MIDI II press is part of a package that also includes a Lamiflex E, laminator. The 1270 mm central impression press prints on a wide variety of films including LDPE, HD, OPP paper and laminates and is equipped with the Falcon II intelligent job setting and semi-automatic register setting.

This system reduces waste at start-up by as much as 70% and reduces make-ready times by up to 50% allowing both long and short printing runs to be processed economically and with significantly reduced waste. 

The Lamiflex E supplied offers a coating width of up to 1310 mm and uses a two part, solvent-free adhesive that sets via chemical reaction. This operating system eliminates the need for a heated drying tunnel and saves on high energy consumption while reducing carbon emissions.

The new installation joins a MIDI press, which the company purchased five years ago, and will double the 18,000 sq ft Telford site’s production capability. This currently includes flexible packaging for customer sectors such as confectionary, snacks, meat, poultry, dairy, bakery and sports nutrition, in the form of film on the reel, Doy-Packs (stand-up pouches) and shrink sleeves. The film supplied can be used for HFFS, VFFS, lidding and can be produced with or without coatings, barriers and parchment effects.

‘The new equipment has a faster set-up and running speed, resulting in products going through the manufacturing process more efficiently than most in the market today,’ said Peter Ralten of Reflex. ‘Reflex is a sustainable business both financially and environmentally. Growth over the last few years has created the need for expansion and the new machinery has enabled us to do this. Our customers and end users will also benefit from the increased manufacturing quality and consistency that this highly technical and robust machinery provides.’